Motor Rear-ended ... Not my fault?

Just looking for an opinion please... Was rear-ended earlier today ... No major damage done to my car but my neck and head are aching... Doc advised to wait til tomo and see then...

I will ring to report to my insurance company in the morn... My query is:- How can I be sure that MY insurance will not be affected by this? Some internet based info implies that my premium could increase and I could loose my NCB? How could this be? I was stationary for God's sake and she rear-ended me...

Any advice greatly appreciated.....

LS

Little Sis said:

Just looking for an opinion please... Was rear-ended earlier today ... No major damage done to my car but my neck and head are aching... Doc advised to wait til tomo and see then...

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Hi there. If someone rear ended you, then it's highly unlikely to be your fault. Can you describe the circumstances of how the accident happened?

Little Sis said:

I will ring to report to my insurance company in the morn...

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Sure - your required to do so most likely.

Little Sis said:

My query is:- How can I be sure that MY insurance will not be affected by this? Some internet based info implies that my premium could increase and I could loose my NCB? How could this be? I was stationary for God's sake and she rear-ended me...

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Where were you stationary? Did she admit liability? Did you admit any liability? Were the gardai called? Did you swap both vehicle, driver and insurance details?

What you probably read online said that if you were to claim off your own insurance that your no-claims bonus would be stepped back until such time as your insurance company reclaimed the money from other party's insurers. Which would be standard.

More Info

I was stationary .... Line of traffic had stopped ahead as someone was turining right .. She crashed into/rear ended me.... Yes gardai were called... Nice guy.. said"It's not your fault ..... WEll, what I mean is it looks like it;s not your fault".... "I'll get details to exchange and you can sort it out amongst yourselves"... Have her name/work num and insurance ref as it looks like it's a state vehicle.. possible health service/HSE... Again ... my query .. I musy report it to my insurance company, correct? Well they deal with the claim on my behalf then? Why must they become involved if it was not my fauklt and has nothing to do woth them? You hear horror stories of premiums shooting throught the roof even when not that persons fault... That's all... Prob best to report it to the company? No one admitted liability .. There was very little interaction once al was shown to be directly uninjured .. My 15 yo son was with me in the car

Sorry to hear about your accident. Follow the doctor's order to the letter.

Little Sis said:

... Have her name/work num and insurance ref as it looks like it's a state vehicle.. possible health service/HSE...

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Do you have the registration number of the vehicle that allegedly ran into you? The fact that's it's a state vehicle means you won't be dealing with an insurer, you, or your insurer as the case may be, will probably be dealing with a loss adjuster working on behalf of HSE / Finance or whoever. The state underwrites its own risk in cases like this and cuts out the middle man.

Little Sis said:

... Again ... my query .. I musy report it to my insurance company, correct? ...

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In most cases yes, even if you are not at fault, which the other party may dispute, but the same old story, check you policy documents. Some insurers have an out-of-hours line for reporting accidents, check if yours has and check your policy documents to see what your rights and responsibilities are.

Little Sis said:

... Well they deal with the claim on my behalf then? ...

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That depends. With two insurance companies, more than likely, with the State involved I can't say as I have no experience with them in this context.

Little Sis said:

... Why must they become involved if it was not my fauklt and has nothing to do woth them? ...

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It has everything to do with them. They insured you against accidents while driving; you have had an accident while driving. This is their business in every sense of the word.

Little Sis said:

... No one admitted liability .. There was very little interaction once al was shown to be directly uninjured .. My 15 yo son was with me in the car

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I love the adversarial legal system here - admit nothing, dispute everything. I hope you and your son recover from the shock and any physical injuries/discomforts.

HTH

I was rear ended in similar circumstances minus neck/headaches plus bumper damage. I phoned my insurance who explained it all to me: since the other driver admitted responsibility either they paid out of their own pocket or their insurance would deal with me. If either failed then my insurance would be involved.

IMO call your insurance and give all the details, ask them what your options are, what to do next OR skip that step and call the other driver's insurance.

mathepac said:

I love the adversarial legal system here - admit nothing, dispute everything.

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How people react initially to a situation may not be the same as how they would react given time & space to collect their thoughts. As regards 'legal', when your dealing with insurance companies, then that's cold reality of whats involved. If it's clear in the OP's mind that they were at fault, then of course, they should man up to that.

By way of example, I recently rear ended someone on a round-about. Despite the fact that the other party stopped in the middle of the roundabout and beckoned someone else to come out in front of them, I didn't bother to challenge that. If you rear-end someone, it's going to be damn hard to establish that you are not at fault - at best, I could have created a situation whereby both of us claimed off each others insurance, both ending up with excessive premiums.